Sampo Group’s Online Annual Report 2012 and Sampo’s video ‘25 Years as a Listed Company’ have been granted the international Red Dot Communication Design 2013 Awards.

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Group

Corporate Responsibility

Corporate responsibility is an inherent component of insurance activities and it is high on the agenda both in If P&C, the largest P&C insurer in the Nordic and Baltic countries, and Mandatum Life, the leading life insurer in Finland and the Baltic countries. It is also demonstrated by the fact that Sampo Group companies are significant taxpayers in their main markets. Sampo Group companies pay an estimated total of over EUR 250 million in corporate income taxes for 2012.

Corporate Responsibility in If P&C

If has an underlying commitment to promote a society in which everyone is able to live safely and securely. Along with the police, rescue services, judiciary and other public authorities, the insurance companies play a key role in creating a safe and secure society. In 2012 alone, If processed close to one and half million insurance claims ranging from private clients injured in road accidents to companies whose own production, or their suppliers', had been halted, as was the case when Hurricane Sandy hit the USA. In total, If has paid out more than EUR 3 billion in claims over the past year.

As the leading insurance company in the Nordic region, If's corporate responsibility goes beyond its business operations. If applies its unique knowledge of risk management to help build a safe environment. Its principal objective is to constantly act in a manner that satisfies or exceeds the ethical, legal and commercial requirements placed upon the business.

As an example, If has been deeply committed to environmental concerns for many years and all company activities are governed by a strict environmental policy. The essence of this policy is that the company will always endeavour to find the most environmentally viable solution for If, its clients, suppliers and partners.

A long list of sustainable actions was implemented in 2012:

If introduced a car insurance in Denmark for which the premium is based on the CO2 emission for the car.

Since If handles claims for more than 300,000 damaged cars and outsources repairs to homes and commercial properties for millions of Euro each year, its suppliers are required to maintain high environmental standards with regard to transport, materials, working methods and other aspects. For example, If is responsible for almost half the repairs of plastic parts on damaged cars in Sweden. As a result of If's efforts to promote the reuse of vehicle parts, more than 800 tonnes of material were recycled.

The company initiated an ambitious, internal environmental programme some years ago. In 2012, If conducted a major project aimed at reducing energy consumption in its larger office buildings.

If’s office in Turku, Finland, became a WWF Finland Green Office.

If's offices in Gothenburg, Sweden, won the Green Tenant Award, a new environmental award whose purpose is to recognise the environmental efforts of Sweden's office tenants.

If has an extensive programme for supporting safety initiatives in a broad sense. If's Säkerhetsnål and Eldsjälspriset scholarships are awarded once a year to a young person working to support other young people in vulnerable positions, or an organisation or private individual who is devoted to a cause and whose activities contribute to a better society. In Norway, If works in nationwide partnerships with the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection and Emergency Planning and the Norwegian Fire Protection Association. In Finland, If makes six-year-old school children more visible to traffic on the way to school by providing them with high visibility yellow caps. If's road safety researchers regularly analyse the company's comprehensive vehicle damage statistics to ensure that the information can be used to improve safety on the roads.

Furthermore, If places great focus on helping clients prevent accidents themselves. If does this, for example, by offering private clients affordable safety products and supporting business clients with systematic risk assessments.

Obviously, If also takes action to influence politicians and other policy-makers to make prudent, long-term decisions. One example of this is Sweden where If works to get community planning officers to take into consideration the risks of raised water levels when making decisions about requests for water-side homes. Along with the other three major Nordic insurance companies, If supports a research project on climate change in the Nordic region, headed by the Nordforsk research funding organisation, an organ of the Nordic Council of Ministers.

Corporate Responsibility in Mandatum Life

Mandatum Life’s corporate responsibility is based on the cornerstones of its operations: increasing and securing the financial welfare of its customers and safeguarding against risks.

Providing security to entrepreneurs fosters entrepreneurship. Mandatum Life provides security to its self-employed customers and their families and safeguards the future of the company in the event of the sudden illness, disability or death of the entrepreneur. The statutory cover provides basic security, which is often not enough, however. The small amount of statutory pension might reduce the entrepreneur’s income level during retirement to even below the income threshold. Therefore it is important for entrepreneurs to have the possibility to voluntarily supplement their pension. This also gives entrepreneurs better opportunities to focus on running their companies and to cope in the face of life and health risks.

Mandatum Life develops, in close co-operation with its major corporate customers, strategies and processes to promote well-being at work and thus plays an active part in fostering responsible personnel practices. Through commitment and reward solutions, it promotes the well-being of the companies’ personnel and indirectly also looks after their families, for example by offering additional cover against disability or death and by encouraging the personnel in a long-sighted and fair manner.

The most important factors influencing our happiness are family, our own health and the health of our loved ones and financial stability. A serious illness, disability, accident or death may pose significant financial risks. The indemnities paid by Mandatum Life help people and their families to cope better in difficult situations.

In 2012, Mandatum Life paid out pensions to 61,000 pensioners, a total of approximately EUR 320 million, and other indemnities totalling nearly EUR 400 million to 37,000 insured.